Seconds

May be because of its smaller budget (sensing from the visual canvas) the new movie Seconds from director Aneesh Upasana lacks a grand outlook. But with an impressive climax and a sensible buildup with well nurtured characters, Seconds gradually becomes that pleasing thriller.

Following the footsteps of the modern day trend of focusing on one day’s story, Seconds goes behind a murder case. An insurance agent, a sales girl, a photographer and a local goon happen to be in the same lift at one particular time. At the blink of an eye, things changes quite drastically, resulting in the murder and severe injuries of these characters. The story then gets a narrative through the investigative officer who goes behind the story of each of these characters. How he does that and how the truth comes out is what this just above 2 hours film showcasing.

After being unsuccessful with his first attempt through matinee, Aneesh Upasana has taken a U turn in terms of selecting scripts. While the first movie had an awful lot of melodramas and roughness, this one has very less scope for melodrama and the roughness has elegance. The nature of certain characters, the practical possibility of certain situations manages to generate an interest about the path the movie will take. Sometimes the script tries to overdo with its characters like the scene were Vinay Forrt defends for a couple by going a bit physical and also at certain scenes that had Aparna Nair.

The direction is much improved compared to matinee. The movie moves in a steady speed and has a gradual acceleration that won’t disrupt your enjoyment. The frames were also good. As I said the script focuses more on the main content and that’s why the runtime is less and there is less nonsense/irrelevant parts in the movie. Dialogues are a bit cheesy at times, but a few of them which had Vinayakan had good humor. There were times where I felt grand attire would have boosted the movie. The background music towards the climax lacked the required adrenalin. Edits were nice.

On screen, Jayasurya is a good choice for the character as he has that flexibility. The actor did his part very nicely with all those Tamil diction and character mannerisms. Some of the attributes of the photographer character didn’t suit Vinay Forrt as an actor. Like how he handles certain situations in a rough way. Aparna Nair has done her part nicely. Vinayakan offered the fun part of the film with his beasty getup and open words. There is a slight improvement in Shankar Ramakrishnan’s acting. The other actors were also good in their small characters.

Overall I enjoyed Seconds. It won’t bore you with pointless scenes. It won’t test you much with possibility of situations. And for those who are willing to accept commercial flavors, the climax is a pleasing one with an impressive twist. The rating is 3/5 and thumbs up for director Aneesh Upasana’s Seconds.